UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA 
DEPARTMENT OF HISTORY 

BULLETIN NO. 2 



SUGGESTIONS FOR COURSES IN 
HISTORY IN JUNIOR COLLEGES 



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UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA 
DEPARTMENT OF HISTORY 

BULLETIN NO. 2 



SUGGESTIONS FOR COURSES IN 
HISTORY IN JUNIOR COLLEGES 



UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA PRESS 
BERKELEY 
March, 1913 



$ 






FACULTY 

H. Moese Stephens, M.A., Litt.D., Sather Professor of History. 
Thomas E. Bacon, A.B., B.D., Professor of Modern European History. 
Heebert E. Bolton, Ph.D., Professor of American History. 
Frederick J. Teggart, B.A., Associate Professor of Pacific Coast History, 

and Curator of the Bancroft Library. 
Eichard P. Scholz, Ph.D., Assistant Professor of Ancient History. 
Eugene I. McCormac, Ph.D., Assistant Professor of American History. 
Louis J. Paetow, Ph.D., Assistant Professor of Medieval History and 

Secretary of the Department of History. 
William A. Morris, Ph.D., Assistant Professor of English History. 



SUGGESTIONS FOR COURSES IN HISTORY IN THE JUNIOR 
i 
i 

COLLEGES, OR THE FIFTH AND SIXTH YEARS 
IN HIGH SCHOOLS 

The Department of History in the University of California is greatly 
interested in the courses which are being offered in the fifth and sixth 
years in high schools in California, and makes the following suggestions 
in reply to the numerous inquiries which have been received from different 
parts of the State with regard to courses in History. The term "Junior 
Colleges," which has been applied to the establishment of such courses in 
the fifth and sixth years, indicates that the work is expected to be of 
college rather than of high school standard. In no subject is there a 
wider difference of treatment between school and college than in History. 
In the high school, History must be taught, or at any rate has hitherto 
been generally taught, by the text-book method. In ambitious high 
schools with progressive teachers, the text-book method is largely supple- 
mented, and in the fourth-year classes it is sometimes entirely abandoned. 
But in the great majority of high schools the text-book method still con- 
tinues to be used. In colleges and universities the text-book method, 
even when supplemented from other sources, is now abandoned. The 
college student is freed from the idea that all the History he need know 
is shut between the covers of one text-book, and he is led to consult 
many books and to realize that training in History does not mean the 
acquisition of a certain amount of historical information, but that it is 
also a discipline in learning how much or how little is known about the 
past and in a study of the controversies as to the interpretation of the 
past. The college student breaks away from the idea of reciting upon a 
set lesson and is led to read, study, and compare. This change in the 
method of teaching, which at present generally takes place at the end of 
the four years in high school, when the student enters a college or a 
university, must begin in the fifth year of the high school, or the first 
year of the junior college, if students from the junior colleges are to be 
admitted into the upper classes of the university. Otherwise such 
students will be hampered in their upper-class work by ignorance of the 
methods of instruction and research therein pursued, if they come at 
once from six years of recitation work in History into the upper-class 
work of a modern university. 



Many applications have been received by the Department of History 
in the University of California with regard to the work in History that 
could most profitably be pursued in the fifth and sixth years of California 
high schools, under their denomination of junior colleges. Many of the 
applicants desire to know what subjects should be taught in these ad- 
vanced classes; and the Department of History desires to emphasize the 
fact that the subjects to be taught, to be equivalent to the Freshmax 
and Sophomore work in the university, should be selected upon the 
basis of their fitness for being handled as college subjects rather than 
as high school subjects. That is to say, the difference should not be made 
upon the nature of the subject to be taught, but upon its possibility for 
a different method of instruction. Satisfactory work in the fifth and 
sixth years of the high school, to be regarded as equivalent to Freshman 
and Sophomore work in the university, must be based upon the adapta- 
bility of the subject for college instruction, upon the adequacy of equip- 
ment, and upon the preparation of the teacher for the more advanced 
method of teaching. 

The Department of History in the University of California, after 
much discussion and debate, ventures to suggest certain subjects as suit- 
able for the fifth and sixth years of work in the high schools and sets 
forth its reasons for regarding them as suitable, in the following para- 
graphs. It then sets forth reasons why it regards certain subjects that 
have already been adopted in certain junior colleges as unsuitable. It 
is the desire of the Department of History to aid the junior colleges 
in- planning their work; and, if there is a demand for them, the Depart- 
ment will prepare syllabuses indicating an outline of a year's work in 
the following subjects: 

1. Western American History. The Department of History regards 
this as a highly appropriate subject for junior-college work. The course 
in American History, as taught in connection with civil government in 
the fourth year of California high schools, is devoted to the study of 
national history, and is taught in close connection with the history of the 
national constitution and its development. The existence of many excel- 
lent text-books on American History, with the aid that can be derived 
from such collections of sources as those of Professor MacDonald and 
Professor Hart, makes possible a thorough course in national history as 
a whole, in the last year of the high school. 

But it is most important for graduates of "Western high schools to be 
given an opportunity to study Western History, both from the standpoint 
of the Trans-Mississippi West as a great geographical region, with a 
history of its own, and from that of the Westward Movement as an 
historical process. The story of the national history has been so largely 
written from an Eastern point of view that the essential character of 



Western History, especially of the early Western history, has been greatly 
neglected. In California, and in the Southwest generally, there is an 
especial need that Western History should be studied, on account of the 
importance of the Spanish occupation and settlement, a movement which 
has been altogether neglected, and yet which forms the background for 
all subsequent developments. California History, in the narrow sense, 
for reasons that will be dwelt upon later, is more suited for the seventh 
or eighth grade; but Western American History, which combines the 
history of the northward movement from Mexico and the southward 
movements from Canada and Bussia with the Westward Movement across 
the American continent, needs a larger treatment, and cannot be under- 
taken before the fifth or sixth year of the high school. It must be taught 
without a text-book, for there is no text-book devoted entirely, or even 
largely, to Western American History. It must rest upon the study of 
different authors and different classes of material; and it can be so taught 
as to furnish an admirable opportunity for obtaining a wide acquaintance 
with a variety of secondary literature and primary documents of especial 
interest to Western students, which they will not encounter in other 
courses in History. Books on American History are to be found in 
larger numbers in high school and city libraries than upon any other 
subject; and it is not difficult to build up a sufficiently adequate library 
alike of secondary books and of collections of primary material to give 
students a knowledge of the methods of historical research. 

It seems to the Department of History, therefore, particularly important 
that California students shall have an opportunity to study Western 
American History, both on account of its relation to California History and 
on account of its possibilities as an advanced high school, or junior college, 
subject. Professor Herbert Bolton, of the Department of History in the 
University of California, will be glad to communicate with high school 
principals and History teachers who desire to establish courses in West- 
ern History in junior colleges; and, if any considerable demand be made 
for it, he will prepare a syllabus for a year's work in that subject. 

2. History of the Nineteenth Century. This seems to the Department 
of History a suitable subject for the fifth or sixth year of high school 
work, either preceding or succeeding a year of work in Western American 
History. The course in Medieval and Modern European History usually 
given in the second year of the high school is apt to slur over the History 
of the Nineteenth Century, partly because it comes at the end of the 
school year and partly because of the intrinsic difference in its char- 
acter from that of earlier periods. This has been recognized in several 
of the up-to-date high school text-books in History. The methods of 
teaching Medieval and Modern European History must, in their nature,, 



differ from the teaching of Nineteenth-Century History. Whereas there 
is a certain degree of surety with regard alike to the knowledge pos- 
sessed of the earlier periods and the perspective in which they are re- 
garded, there is no such surety with regard to Nineteenth-Century History, 
of which the issues change and the perspective is altered by events of 
present importance and interest. It is very difficult, on this account, to 
handle Nineteenth-Century History, especially in its later decades, from 
a text-book; and dependence must be placed in teaching it on the large 
literature on current events, which is easily accessible in high school and 
city libraries, and on the space devoted to Nineteenth-Century History 
in the current periodicals. It is desirable that more time should be given 
to social and economic movements than to political history. Important 
as the making of united Germany and the making of united Italy are in 
the Nineteenth Century, it is even more important for young American 
citizens to realize the increasing unity and complexity of modern civiliza- 
tion, and to understand the universal character of modern labor prob- 
lems and the suggestions for their solution, the nature of the Peace move- 
ment, and the various demands of Socialism. There is a great deal of 
miscellaneous literature available in books and periodicals, dealing with 
economic features, such as the development of machinery and transporta- 
tion, and with such topics of immediate interest as expansion, the rise 
of New Asia, and the general development of democracy, from which 
outside reading can be provided and topics for research selected for 
students of junior-college age. There is a distinct place for the teaching 
of Nineteenth-Century History in its connection with the History of the 
United States, and such books as Coolidge's The United States as a World 
Poiuer are exceedingly well suited to arouse interest in junior college 
students. Further, the training of teachers for courses in Nineteenth 
Century History is not so academic as for teaching earlier periods; 
teachers of Nineteenth Century History naturally train themselves by 
reading current literature, more than they can be trained in university 
classes. A syllabus for a year's work in Nineteenth Century History 
will be provided by the Department of History, if a demand exists for it. 

3. English History. English History in a more advanced form than 
that offered in the third year in the high school and laying weight upon 
the institutional and economic side forms a suitable subject for fifth-year 
or sixth-year study. English History is not universally offered in high 
schools and is usually a third-year elective. For those students who do 
not take English History in the third year, it would be an admirable 
study in the fifth year. Such a course in English History should not be 
merely a narrative history of the English people, such as is given in the 
text-books on English History provided for the third year in the high 
school, but should rather be a study of English institutions, explaining 



the origin of American law in particular and of American institutions in 
general. The equipment for such a course is generally to be found in 
high school libraries and city libraries, where English History is as a rule 
better represented than European Continental History. Professor W. A. 
Morris would be glad to supply hints for the conduct of such a fifth-year 
or sixth-year course; and, if demanded, a syllabus by him will be supplied 
for the subject. 

While the History Department feels that its duty is accomplished in 
recommending these three subjects as suitable by their nature and by 
the possibilities of library equipment for junior college work, it would 
further state that it considers that most useful courses could be given in 
junior colleges on (4) modern ideas in local government, sanitation, care 
of the poor, etc., sometimes covered under the title of Advanced Civics, 
and (5) on Elementary Economics. Outlines of courses on these subjects 
would doubtless be provided by the Department of Political Science 
and by the Department of Economics, if there were a demand for them. 

The Department of History in the University of California desires 
to give its reasons for believing that the courses offered already in 
some junior colleges in General History and in Commercial History are 
unsuitable. A course in General History is not adapted for the fifth year 
in a high school because it tends to be a mere repetition in briefer form 
of the work generally offered in Ancient, Medieval and Modern History in 
the first and second years. There is no advantage in dealing with General 
History by the same teachers from a different point of view from that 
of the first and second year courses, and there cannot be the general 
equipment in books in high school and city libraries to cover adequately 
the whole of General History. The course in General History given to 
Ereshmen in the University of California demands an elaborate ma- 
chinery of teachers, of sections, and of books that cannot be provided in 
a junior college. An exact equivalent for History 1, as given in the 
University of California, is therefore not recommended for fifth-year 
work in high schools. It is much to be preferred that special topics like 
Western American History, Nineteenth Century History, and advanced 
English History should be substituted. The Department of History in the 
University of California also does not favor the subject of Commercial 
History, which is at present offered in certain junior colleges. There is 
evidently a demand for such a course, but the equipment for it does not 
exist. The text-books are not adequate, and the differentiation of Com- 
mercial History from political and social history in the absence of a 
previous course in Elementary Economics is absolutely harmful. A large 
place for Economic History must necessarily be found in the teaching of 
Western American and Nineteenth Century History, and the so-called 
Commercial History is better handled in connection with these specific 



8 

courses than by itself. A certain amount of Economic History would 
further inevitably be taught in connection with a course in Elementary 
Economics, and it would be better in place there than as a course in 
History. 

The Department of History regards California History as unsuitable 
for junior colleges on account of the lack of available material and of 
its inadequacy for students of that age, except as part of general Western 
American History. The equipment for such a course in California History 
does not exist, and the Department of History believes that it would be 
a mistake to regard California History as a junior college course. On 
the other hand, the Department desires to go on record as believing that 
California History can and should be taught in the grammar grades, 
preferably in the seventh grade. Comparatively few students will take 
the fifth or sixth year of high school work or junior college work, which- 
ever it may be termed, whereas the larger part of the children of Cali- 
fornia pass through the seventh and eighth grades. It is most desirable 
that the romantic history of the State of California should be taught 
enthusiastically to the younger children and that it should not be left 
as an advanced subject to the junior colleges. Several text-books have 
been written on California History, suitable to the seventh or eighth 
grade, and it is most desirable that California History should be uni- 
versally .taught in these grades. Where a course in Western American 
History is introduced, there would naturally be a renewal of the study of 
California History, in the form of particular illustration of Western 
American History; and this would be a much better way of handling it 
in the junior colleges. 

Tt was stated at the beginning of this circular that regard should be 
paid in the selection of junior college subjects in History not only to the 
equipment that can be provided for the teaching of any subject, and to 
its general suitability, but also to the training of teachers who can teach 
such subjects. At the present time, the Department of History in the 
University of California recommends for high school teacher's certifi- 
cates in History those who have had adequate preparation for teaching 
the four years of work offered in California high schools — namely. 
Ancient History, Medieval and Modern European History, English 
History, and United States History, with civil government. It would 
continue to recommend those students who have done one year of graduate 
work in History and who have covered these subjects, for regular high 
school positions, as at present. But the Department of History has in 
mind to suggest a distinction in its recommendation of teacher's certifi- 
cates in History. It is thinking of giving a special recommendation of 
fitness to teach in junior colleges to those who have had two years of 
graduate studv in History and who have taken a master's degree. Ex- 



perience has shown that it is almost impossible for a student to obtain a 
teacher's certificate in History and a master's degree in one year of 
graduate work. The Department would therefore demand two years of 
graduate work and the taking of a master's degree for recommendation 
for a teacher's certificate recommending the holder as equipped for 
junior college work. The longer preparation and the fact of having 
accomplished a real piece of historical investigation for the master's 
degree would make the distinction between the regular high school teacher 
and the specially trained junior college teacher, and the acquisition of 
the master 's degree would mark the difference. 

Copies of this circular and brief outlines of the courses suggested with 
lists of books can be obtained from Professor L. J. Paetow, Secretary of 
the Department of History, 108 California Hall, Berkeley, California. 



UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA PUBLICATIONS IN HISTORY 

Volume 1 

1. Colonial Opposition to Imperial Authority during the French and 

Indian War, by Eugene Irving McCormac, Assistant Professor of 
American History, University of California. 98 pages. 

2. The Viceroy of New Spain, by Donald E. Smith. 195 pages. 



PUBLICATIONS OF THE ACADEMY OF PACIFIC COAST HISTORY 

Volume l 

1. The San Francisco Clearing House Certificates of 1907-1908, by Carl 

Copping Plehn, Professor of Finance, University of California. 

14 pages and plate. 

2. The official account of the Portola Expedition of 1769-1770, edited by 

Frederick J. Teggart, Curator, Academy of Pacific Coast History. 

15 pages and plate. 

3. Diary of Caspar de Portola during the California Expedition of 1769- 

1770, edited by Donald Eugene Smith, Assistant Professor of 
History and Geography, University of California, and Frederick 
J. Teggart, Curator, Academy of Pacific Coast History. Spanish 
text and translation. 59 pages and plate. 

4. The Narrative of the Portola Expedition of 1769-1770 by Miguel Cos- 

tanso, edited by Adolph van Hemert-Engert, Assistant in the 
Academy of Pacific Coast History, and Frederick J. Teggart, 
Curator, Academy of Pacific Coast History. Spanish text and 
translation. 69 pages and plate. 

5. The United States Consulate in California, by Eayner Wickersham 

Kelsey. 107 pages. 

6. Diary of Patrick Breen, one of the Donner Party, 1846-1847, edited 

by Frederick J. Teggart, Curator, Academy of Pacific Coast His- 
tory. 16 pages and plate. 

7. Papers of the San Francisco Committee of Vigilance of 1851, I., edited 

by Porter Garnett, Assistant Curator, Academy of Pacific Coast 
History. 69 pages and plate. 



Volume 2 

1. The Portola Expedition of 1769-1770 — Diary of Vicente Vila, edited 

by Eobert Selden Bose, Assistant in Spanish, University of Cali- 
fornia. 119 pages and map. 

2. Papers of the San Francisco Committee of Vigilance of 1851, II., edited 

by Porter Garnett, Assistant Curator, Academy of Pacific Coast 
History. 19 pages and plate. 

3. Expedition to San Francisco Bay in 1770 — Diary of Pedro Fages, edited 

by Herbert Eugene Bolton, Professor of American History, Uni- 
versity of California. 19 pages. 

4. The Portola Expedition of 1769-1770 — Diary of Miguel Costanso, edited 

by Frederick J. Teggart, Associate Professor of Pacific Coast His- 
tory, University of California. 167 pages and map. 

5. Expedition on the Sacramento and San Joaquin Bivers in 1817 — Diary 

of Fray Narciso Duran, edited by Charles Edward Chapman. 
Assistant in the Academy of Pacific Coast History. 21 pages. 

Volume 3 

1. The Anza Expedition of 1775-1776 — Diary of Pedro Font, edited by 
Frederick J. Teggart, Associate Professor of Pacific Coast History, 
University of California. 133 pages and plate. 



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